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S3 Ep 12: Species Review - Elf · Bards and Barrels

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Hi, I'm Buddy the Elf.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: What's your favorite color?
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, and there's the opening crack.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, it's time.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this is a great start to this episode, everybody.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's time for the opening crack.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's not not no, this is not the opening crack.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: Why?
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: What am I doing?
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Why are we here?
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know why we're here.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm apparently extremely confused.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, welcome everybody to Bards and Barrels.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, tonight, uh, if you couldn't tell by our intros, little intro bit, uh, we're talking about elves.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: The ones on the shelf?
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: All of them.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: Sandliness is the ones on the shelf.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: Well, preferably the ones we could play in this game, right?
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever, it's fine.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: But we're gonna be looking at the new elves for the 2024 edition.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they're a little new, but it's kind of the same.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_02: Basically the same.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: So, boys, what are your initial thoughts on the elves from the 2024 edition?
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: So, if we take a look at kind of what we're what we've got, they really didn't m take anything away, I would say, other than you shuffled some stuff around.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: Some of the stuff we talked about, I think, on one of our previous species reviews, right?
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: They moved some of that stuff into the backgrounds, some of the things we were used to seeing here in what was formerly known as races that we now call species, but you still got choices.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_02: Just kind of has like a subclassy feel still to it.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so you can still get your high elves, your wood elves, and your drow.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Those are your three options of types of elves.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: But there are no more half elves.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're they got rid of all the half creatures, so like half orcs, half elves.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Those are gone.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now we just get the full-blown elf.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, which I I find rather disappointing, but uh we'll we'll actually have some examples of that, and we'll mention them here in a minute.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, what are some pop culture examples of various types of elves that we've seen before, guys?
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there's this uh little series called Lord of the Rings.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: They've got a few elves in it.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's a couple, a handful.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: You might know a few of those.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Legolos, of course, uh Elrond, Galadriel.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, keep going anyway.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_02: Like here's where we spend the next five minutes listing elves from Lord of the Rings.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: No, and a whole bunch of names you can't pronounce.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Gilgrim, Gilgalad, Celebrimbor, something like that.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: What was that again?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Cela Celebrimbor?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how to say it.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Bless you.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so what do we got outside of Lord of the Rings, though?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_02: Surely we've got some options, right?
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we hit Buddy the Elf, maybe uh I don't even wood elf?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: Buddy Elf Elf.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, he can't be a half elf anymore.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_02: So sure.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Fair point.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: He might have more of that elf background instead of like an actual species straight.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, that makes sense.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think uh Santa Claus's elves come to mind.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: If we're gonna talk about Santa Claus's elves, I think we need to bring up Bernard from the Santa Claus.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, Bernard.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, and if we're talking Santa, and then you got elf on the shelf, Chippy.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Those have to be like a high elf, right?
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Because they're like sitting up high on the shelf.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: Just not the high you're thinking of.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it is the you're thinking of.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh other examples would be so we're talking like half elves, which don't exist anymore.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Vex and Vax from Box Machina are half elves.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, there's also examples in terms of like Link from Um Why can't I think of this?
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to blank.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know, you're pointing at me that I don't know.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_02: What's the name of the game?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, from The Legend of Zelda.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: Legend of Zelda, yes.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm having such a rough night right now.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Dobby from Harry Potter.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um Snap, Crackle, and Pop from of Rice Krispies Frame.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um Malachith from Thor Dark World.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: Uh he's uh a Dark Elf from Svartlheim.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um Altmer, which I believe is a race of elves in Elder Scrolls, and then um Drist.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Uh oh Dristorden.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, from the RA Salvatore books, like old school DD stories.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: That um the only place I ever actually see those is in Parts and Nobles.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: But anyway.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: I'm really hung up on this.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: There's no more half-elf things.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's like Wizards of the Coast did all this stuff to be inclusive, and now they just wiped out an entire species.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you can't tell me there's not some cross mingling going on between your species.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we need to dig a little bit more into like how does that work?
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Surely there's a way to build that still, right?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: I would think it'd have to be coming somehow.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: If you're a humanoid race, I feel like there's a good chance there's gonna be a half version.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's probably why they want you to buy the 2024 version of the DM's guide.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's fair.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: So you can learn about all that.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, your campaign is gonna have bards in it.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: We all know that bards don't stay within species realm, so that's fair.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: You're right.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, uh, general traits for elves.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: What do we got going on there?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Still have dark vision, uh 60 feet.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um they have their elven lineages, like we talked about.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the drow, the high elf or the wood elf.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and within those, so the drow are kind of like your dark elves.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: So with those, you get to increase your dark vision range, and then as you level up, you can get additional spells that come along with that um ancestry.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_02: I like how they've kind of they gave some almost uh you can call it more flavor to the different lineages, too.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's almost like uh adaptation, right?
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like your drow typically dwell in the underdark, so that's kind of what has shaped them to be this kind of dark elf versus your high elves, where they're like between the Fey Wild and the material plane.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: So some of that Fey Wild energy kind of gets ingrained into their lineage.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: So I like how they did that in this 2024 version.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then the wood elves get to have druid craft right off the start, which makes sense.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: They would be closer closer to a druid.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but outside of the lineages, they also get Fey Ancestry, which is having an advantage on saving throws, um or being able to end the charmed condition.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: You also have keen senses, so you have insight, uh, you have proficiency in insight, perception, and survival, uh, and you don't get to sleep.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Elves just kind of go into this little trance.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_02: One of the things I thought was interesting, uh, so the old 2014 version of Fey Ancestry used to have also included in that magic couldn't put you to sleep.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_02: It still exists, they've just moved it into the trance feature this time.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_02: So it's still there, and it kind of makes more sense in the trance feature, but that's one thing I when I first read through it, I'm like, where did that go?
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: And then I kept reading, I'm like, oh, it's there.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Very subtle little changes that maybe make it a little bit easier to understand right off the start, but they're all still there.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm curious, like, why they moved it out.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: Did they move it out just for ease of understanding?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because it also makes sense that trance would fall under Faye Anchester because it's because of their bloodline that they have it in the first place.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like I don't know, six of one, half a dozen the other.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: I really don't care, but it's just interesting.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm curious.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Some of it might just be understandability of when you put too many things lumped under one hard to pull them out skill set or one feature, it gets a little complicated.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: I don't disagree with that.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk a little bit about complimentary classes for elves.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I I would be one to argue that an elf could dang near be any class and it would be complimentary.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: Rogue.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Wizard.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: With the 2024 rulebook, you don't get ability score improvements through your species anymore.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: So really you could kind of go anywhere with an elf.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: They fit really well.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um that drow having the the increased dark vision could be an interesting, especially based on your campaign setting.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, interesting question for you guys.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: Have you have either of you played an elf?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I as everybody heads their player sheets to double track.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think I have, actually.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think I've ever actually played played one like in a in an actual game.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think I've built a couple before, though.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_02: I am playing a high elf wizard in the dungeons uh on First Street.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, there you go.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I will be a Laura that we built during our wizard review.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: So taking away a little bit about um I don't know, preconceived notions about elves, you know, like cause because we've gone through the stuff, we've read about them, we've known about them for a long time.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like what what would draw you to an elf to play them?
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: Typically in the 2020 14 version, what would draw you to an elf to play them was I think they got a boost to their intelligence.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: So they made great spellcasters that use wisdom as or excuse me, intelligence as a spellcasting modifier.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_02: Now uh I like the Dark Vision.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: I still think if you're gonna choose a spell casting class, they already come preloaded with some spells.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: So like you've got some cantrips, you get an extra spell at third and at fifth.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: So that can only help build that repertoire out.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_02: So I I still think they lean well into any of those.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_02: And if you can gain proficiency and insight perception, like both of those, and then yes, survival, but the insight and perception especially.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_02: And it helps spell casting because of your trance.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_02: You can finish a long rest in four hours.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have to do full eight-hour long rest, so you can get all those spell slots back in four hours.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: That can be really powerful, like especially if you're doing a longer campaign and you're gonna be doing lots of long resting over a long campaign.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Chances are you're probably gonna do it mostly with your whole party, so you won't always get that benefit.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: But if you can go off on your own a little bit, go into a trance, come back rejuvenated, perfect.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: I think for me, what what draws me to an elf is like if I didn't know anything about it, it is like it's probably you know how like when you think of a wizard as the cornerstone class that you want to play when you start DD, an elf is like that cornerstone species to me.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's like it's that very high fantasy type species.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's like I want to play human, I want to do something that's not me.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm probably not typically gonna think of like gnomes, half lines, things like that right off the top of my head.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: But an elf comes to mind pretty quick.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Lord of the Rings.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_02: It is so funny though, because when we think about it, you're like, Yeah, elf, high fantasy.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_02: And then as you like kind of get into it, you read through it, you're like, Yeah, elf, like humanoid, like human with ears, you know.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: But you're very right.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it it has that appeal, they feel they just feel magical by nature, I think is part of that.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: But they're still approachable, yes.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: I agree.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so it's it's a good way to maybe dip your toes into role-playing a little bit more with doing something a little bit outside of your comfort zone.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you're just getting into DD, this is a great one to go for for your first character.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, any final thoughts before we get out of here on elves, guys?
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_02: I'll let you know how it goes playing one in this campaign.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: It is Spock and Elf.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Oh man.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: Just leave the space help.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: We'll just have to leave that for next time.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: We're just gonna leave it right there.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, that's exactly right.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's an astral elf.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's gonna do it for this.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, wow.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: That's gonna do it for this episode of Bards and Barrels.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: You can listen to past episodes of the show anywhere podcasts can be found.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube at Bards and Barrels.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see you soon.